Community Participation Group

Working with and learning from our communities to shape better care

Our Community Participation Group (CPG) works alongside NHS colleagues to ensure the lived experiences and needs of patients, carers and communities shape how services are planned and delivered. This has been arranged by Bristol NHS Group, a partnership between North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) with the aim of delivering high quality care across Bristol, Weston, South Gloucestershire and the wider South West. The CPG brings together people with lived experience of using NHS services, including patients, carers, community leaders and representatives from voluntary and community organisations. Recruitment of members to the CPG was supported by the BNSSG Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Alliance, helping ensure the group reflects the diversity of our local population. Members meet regularly to share their perspectives on how services are developed and improved. Their insight helps ensure that changes support fair access to care, more consistent experiences and smoother pathways across the whole Group.

What does the CPG do?

CPG members help shape our services by:

• Offering feedback on service proposals.
• Advising on how changes may impact different groups.
• Reviewing patient information to ensure it is clear and inclusive.
• Making sure the voice and experiences of communities who are often underrepresented are heard and can influence decision making.

The CPG also plays an important role in supporting our Joint Clinical Strategy (JCS) which sets out our aspiration to deliver seamless, high quality, equitable and sustainable care for all our communities.

CPG impact

Since launching in September 2025, the CPG has supported several initiatives aiming to make services fairer, more joined up and easier to access.

So far, this includes:

• Providing feedback and insight based on lived experiences to support the development of our Joint Clinical Strategy Update 2026, which will be shared this Spring.
• Attending a relationship building event to create a supportive environment and strengthen the group’s identity.
• Co-designing an engagement framework for the Group Clinical Services programme to help ensure future involvement is inclusive, meaningful and easy for people to take part in.
• The involvement of people with lived experience has brought a really positive energy to the work so far. Bringing together such a diverse group to share their perspectives at the highest levels of decision making is a new and encouraging way of working. This approach is helping ensure a broad range of voices and experiences shape changes from the very beginning.

Involving CPG voices at the highest levels of decision making and at the outset of any changes means we can ensure the services and care we provide reflect the needs of all our communities and the populations we serve.

We will be sharing updates and introducing more about our CPG members as the group continues to grow and its impact develops.

Getting involved

Please note, we are not currently recruiting new members to the Community Participation Group.
However, there are other opportunities to get involved through volunteering roles — including Expert by Experience opportunities — across our hospitals in Bristol and Weston:

• Bristol City Centre Hospitals
• Weston General Hospital
• Southmead Hospital